Submission on Local Government (System Improvements) Amendment Bill
The Commissioner has made a submission on the Local Government (System Improvements) Amendment Bill. He expresses concern that the proposed list of ‘core services’ for local authorities is too restrictive.
"This problem statement, and the resulting language of clause 7, fails to acknowledge the breadth of services and activities that local authorities have statutory responsibility for. Meeting them comes with associated costs. And those costs must be borne somewhere in the system – by users, ratepayers or taxpayers. If central government is not prepared to provide funding for services and activities that are prescribed by law, a local authority must find funding elsewhere or risk the legal consequences of failing to perform statutory functions.”
He highlights that legislation replacing the Resource Management Act 1991 may reconsider the distribution of roles and responsibilities between central and local government, and the private sector. In some cases, core services currently provided by local authorities may end up being delivered by central government.
"Rather than define a new list of ‘core services’ and have them shortly rendered out of date, it would be preferable to await the enactment of the resource management reform legislation. This will ensure that the system design and funding implications can be accurately reflected in any changes to local government legislation."